Markets in Asia rallied sharply and oil stocks moved up as crude hit $71.

The Nikkei rose 2.1% to 9,991.

The Hang Seng was up 3.3% to 18,660. Petrochina (PTR) and CNOOC (CEO) rallied.

The Shanghai Composite rose 1.8% to 2,816.

A the open in Europe, the FTSE was up 1.2% to 4,457. BHP Billiton (BHP) moved up sharply as did BP (BP). The Dax rose 1.4% to 5,068 and the CAC 40 was up 1.4% to 3,342.

Data from Reuters and MatrketWatch.

Douglas A. McIntyre